Food
How to address water scarcity in the EU? Interview with STOA study author Maria Kottari
The EU is facing major challenges with increasing water scarcity. That said, there is also some good news: water consumption by households has been decreasing over the last years. This is what green transition and innovation expert Dr. Maria Kottari has found. She authored a new study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Panel on the ...
Turning the tables on EU food waste
Millions of tonnes of food are wasted in the EU each year. This means that food systems are causing damage to the climate and environment without even fulfilling their function of nourishing people. Adopting holistic approaches promoting greater circularity and behavioural shifts is essential to cut the waste. One thing many European countries share is ...
Alternatives to conventional proteins mapped out visually
What alternatives are there to meat and dairy? What are their pros and cons? This interactive knowledge map, made out of information bubbles, visualises the outcomes of the recent European Parliament Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) study ‘Alternative protein sources for food and feed’. The infographic shows and assesses four alternative ...
Food made from air – sustainable protein production imitates nature
Feeding an expanding global population has a high cost, particularly for the planet. However, new food production methods aim to relieve this pressure by fixating atmospheric CO2 into climate-friendly food and feed products.
Meat grown in a lab: a sustainable and slaughter-free alternative to conventional meat?
Once the preserve of science fiction, cultivated meat has become a reality. According to its advocates, it is a way to revolutionise food with more environmentally and ethically sound meat. Even though it is not allowed in the EU yet, will cultivated meat soon be on European plates? In 2013, Professor Mark Post unveiled the ...
Eating insects: ‘Good for your health, the planet and nutritionally equivalent to meat’
Entomologist Arnold van Huis (Wageningen University, the Netherlands) is an advocate of entomophagy - the human consumption of insects. In this interview Professor Van Huis explains why farming and consuming insects might be good for humans and our planet, and the outlook for a burgeoning insect industry. Professor Van Huis is one of the co-authors ...
Janina Seubert: ‘Studying emotions helps to better understand our food habits’
How might neuroscience help to change producers’ practices and consumers’ choices for more sustainable food? Janina Seubert is an expert in affective neuroscience and human chemosensation at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and a recipient of a European Research Council (ERC) grant. She was one of the ERC-funded researchers who discussed consumer behaviour at a ...
‘Heavy red meat eaters could be CO2-taxed in the future’
"However, we also propose that fruit and vegetables should become more affordable." Interview with Eric Lambin, Chief Scientific Advisor to the European Commission, about the scientific consensus towards sustainable food consumption in the EU and the new scientific opinion on this topic. If you rate the nutritional quality and the state of sustainable food systems ...